Tag: biology

Common Name: Dotted Humming Frog
Scientific Name: Chiasmocleis ventrimaculata
Family: Microhylidae – Narrow mouthed frog family
Location: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru
Size: 0.78 inches (2 cm)

The DottedHumming Frog is known for its special relationship with Tarantulas. How does a tiny frog and a big spider that often eats frogs become friends? Well…. Momma tarantulas are very good at dealing with a variety of predators while defending their eggs but unfortunately, small insects such as ants can be a problem for such a large spider. Luckily, that’s where the little frog comes into play.

The Dotted Humming Frog is a member of the family Microhylidae – the Narrow mouthed frogs. The narrowness of their mouths are perfect for eating ants that could harm the eggs of the tarantulas. So the tarantulas gets protecting for her eggs and the frog gets protection from any other predators that would attack it. This is called a mutualism, where animals share a relationship where both benefit positively.

Reproduction happens during the wet season when temporary pools form from the rain water. Males will call from the pools to attract the females. Once the female arrives, the male grabs her from behind in amplexus. Then, she lays her eggs and the male fertilizes them. The female lays around 400 eggs. Neither parent provides any care for their offspring. The eggs hatch around a day and a half after being laid while the tadpoles take around 3 weeks to complete their metamorphosis.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assesses the Dotted Humming Frog as Least Concern for Extinction due to their wide range and presumed large population.

Common Name: Cricket Coqui and Puerto Rican Green Frog
Scientific Name: Eleutherodactylus gryllus
Family: Eleutherodactylidae
Locations: Puerto Rico
Size: 0.6 inches (16 mm)

The Cricket Coqui is one of the two arboreal species of Coquis. They spend their days hiding in bromeliad plants on tree trunks and during the night, they become active to forage and mate. The females lay their eggs in the axis of the bromeliads where the eggs will develop directly into froglets.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assesses the Cricket Coqui as Critically Endangered. Extensive deforestation in the past has limited the frogs to only areas of high elevation in El Yunque National Forest. However, the frogs are still not on the federal government endangered species list. Its not even listed as threatened. Why? No idea why no one cares.

Common Name: Montane Litter Frog, Mountain Litter Frog, Mountain Spadefoot Toad, Mountain Large-Eyed Litter Frog
Scientific Name: Leptobrachium montanum
Family: Megophryidae – Leaf Litter Frogs
Location: Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia
Size: 3.4 inches (87 mm)

The Montane Litter Frog lives in the rain forests at elevations of above 900 meters (0.55 miles) on the island of Borneo. They spend most of their time blending in with the leaf litter on the ground.

During the mating season, the males call out for the females with a duck-like call. Once the female arrives, the male grasps her from behind. Female frogs are larger than the males. The female frog lays her eggs in the stream and the male fertilizes them. Then, the frogs leave and provide no care for their offspring.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assesses the Montane Litter Frog as Least Concern for Extinction. The frogs have a large range and presumed large population. However, increased clearing of the rain forests they call home to make room for palm oil plantations and to just harvest timber are an increasing threat to the frogs.

Common Name: Chaco Horned Frog, Lesser Chini Frog, Chacoan Burrowing Frog, and Escuercito
Scientific Name: Chacophrys pierotti
Family: Ceratophryidae – Horned Frog Family
Location: Argentina, Bolivia, and Uruguay
Size: 1.7 – 2.5 inches (45 – 65 mm)

The Chaco Horned Frog lives in the hot, semi arid Gran Chaco and Chaco Seco regions It has adapted to this area by living a fossorial (living underground), nocturnal (active at night) lifestyle. While underground, the frog makes a cocoon out of their dead skin to prevent water loss. Best time to see the frogs is during the rainy season when the frogs come to the surface to breed.

Breeding activity spikes in January. Thanks to the rain, temporary lagoons form which the males call from the edges of. Once the females arrive, the male grasps her from behind in amplexus. Then, the female lays her eggs and the males fertilizes them. Neither parent provides any parental care.

The Chaco Horned Frog is the only species in the genus Chacophrys.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assesses the Chaco Horned Frog as Least Concern for Extinction. They have a wide range and a presumed large population. However, increased farming has decreased the quality of the habitat. Also, there is increased frequency of fires in the region.

Common Name: Tyrrhenian Painted Frog, Sardinia Painted Frog 
Scientific Name: Discoglossus sardus
Family: Alytidae – Midwife Toad and Painted Frog family
Location: France and Italy
Size: 2 – 3 inches (5 – 7.5 cm)

The Tyrrhenian Painted Frog lives on the islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea, primarily Sardinia and Corsica, as well as a little bit in main land Italy. The frog comes in a variety of colors – brown, gray, red, and black. Member of the genus Discoglossus – the Painted Frogs, have a lighter colored golden part in the upper eye.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assesses the Tyrrhenian Painted Frog as Least Concern for Extinction due to their decent sized range and presumed large population. However, there are serious threats to the species. The quality of their habitat is being reduced due to damming of streams and extraction of water from them.

Common Name: Senegal Running Frog, Senegal Kassina, Senegal Land Frog
Scientific Name: Kassina senegalensis
Family: Hyperoliidae
Locations: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe
Size: 2 inches (49 mm)

The Senegal Running Frog lives across a wide variety of habitats such as grasslands, shrublands, savannas, and wetlands in sub-Saharan Africa. Due to its large range, the frog could actually be multiple different cryptic species. More research and testing is needed to confirm this. The genus Kassina is known as the Running Frogs due to their weird walking they do instead of hopping like a regular frog. I don’t know why they call them running frogs instead of walking frogs though.

During mating season (spring to late summer), the male frogs call out from the edges of temporary or permanent water bodies to attract females. Once the female arrives, the male grasps her from behind in amplexus. Then, the female lays her eggs and the male fertilizes them. The female lays between 100 to 500 eggs. The parents provide no parental care for their offspring. The eggs hatch in 5 or 6 days and then the tadpoles take between 50 and 90 days to complete their metamorphosis.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assess the Senegal Running Frog as Least Concern for Extinction. They have a huge range and are presumed numerous throughout it.